Waiting time feels longer when the next step is invisible
A chair alone cannot reassure someone that they remain within the care of the system.
Seating choice, sight of staff, call routes and degrees of privacy should work together
Information can be calm and discreet while still making progress understandable.
The design consequence lies in legible arrival, privacy gradients, vertical separation, acoustics, waiting and thresholds that reduce unnecessary exposure.
A waiting room cannot shorten the clock, but it can keep silence from feeling like abandonment.